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How does Wayne Rooney's scoring record rank against Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?

The England captain should soon topple Sir Bobby Charlton's record

Tuesday 08 September 2015 17:21 BST

Wayne Rooney (Getty Images)

Wayne Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's international scoring record on Saturday after dispatching his penalty against San Marino.

His 13th-minute strike was his 49th in an England shirt and put him on course to better Charlton's total when England take on Switzerland at Wembley.

Even if no goal is forthcoming on Tuesday night, it's only a matter of time until the Manchester United striker becomes his country's greatest goalscorer since records began.

But how does the England captain's record compare to the top forwards from other major footballing powers?

We collated the strike rates of the international game's best strikers to see how Wayne Rooney's creditable 0.47 goals per game ratio matches up.

Top international strikers

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1/10Top international strikers

Top international strikers

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

Games: 120 Goals: 55 Strike rate: 0.45 A good strike rate but hardly of the standard we've come to expect, largely due to spending many international games out wide as a youngster.

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Top international strikers

Thomas Muller (Germany)

Games: 65 Goals: 30 Strike rate: 0.46 A great record for a player who's still young. He excels in big games and will surely go on to become the World Cup's all-time top scorer.

Getty Images

Top international strikers

Sergio Aguero (Argentina)

Games: 67 Goals: 31 Strike rate: 0.46 Although Lionel Messi often takes the limelight, Aguero can be equally as devastating.

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Top international strikers

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Games: 104 Goals: 48 Strike rate: 0.46 The best player in the world, probably the best of all time, but still questioned at international level. His good but not remarkable scoring record shows as much.

Getty Images

Top international strikers

Wayne Rooney (England)

Games: 106 Goals: 49 Strike rate: 0.47 On the verge of Sir Bobby Charlton's record, his average rubs shoulders with the world's best.

AFP

Top international strikers

Robbie Keane (Ireland)

Games: 142 Goals: 67 Strike rate: 0.47 He may be coming to the end of his career but Keane can still boast a very respectable goals-per-game ratio at international level - one better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Getty Images

Top international strikers

Robin van Persie (Netherlands)

Games: 99 Goals: 49 Strike rate: 0.49 Almost a goal every two games for the Dutchman, although he'll struggle to score one better than his header against Spain at the 2014 World Cup.

Getty Images

Top international strikers

Luis Suarez (Uruguay)

Games: 82 Goals: 43 Strike rate: 0.52 A divisive figure but one who score bucketfuls. His, Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani's goals have made Uruguay an international force in the last few years.

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Top international strikers

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)

Games: 106 Goals: 56 Strike rate: 0.52 He has an ego, yes, but he also has goals in his locker. An average of over a goal a game is impressive, no matter what you think of him.

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Top international strikers

Neymar (Brazil)

Games: 66 Goals: 44 Strike rate: 0.66 Neymar has exploded onto the international stage and racked up a staggering amount of goals despite being so young. He's on course to topple Pele's record in no time.

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As the gallery above shows, Rooney can boast a better average at international level than Cristiano Ronaldo and Thomas Muller. He even has an edge on the player that many believe to be the greatest of all-time, Argentina's Lionel Messi.

However, while Rooney can hold a candle to these top players, he's got nothing on Kunishige Kamamoto, Godfrey Chitalu or Ali Daei.

In fact, when compared to every other nation's all-time top goalscorer, the England captain's ratio is fairly mediocre.

Top goalscorers for each country, ranked by goal-per-game

Rooney's 0.47 goals-per-game puts him joint-51st in a ranking of every nation's top scorer, alongside the familiar names of Robbie Keane, Samuel Eto'o and Tim Cahill.

Record-holders from countries like the Philippines, Iraq and Martinique all rank above the Manchester United forward.

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